Disclaimer: I decided to add one! Anyway. I don't own Final Fantasy, Squaresoft does. Yubiwa in Ch. 5 belongs to whoever owns the Escaflowne Movie

Prologue

After the defeat of Sephiroth, Avalanche stayed together for about a month, ensuring that the Planet was indeed safe at last. Soon afterward, the group split up, and everyone returned to their hometowns to get on with their lives. Tifa and Cloud were the last of the group remaining in Nibelhiem. Unbeknownst to them all, the world they had just saved was again being stalked by shadows of darkness...

Chapter 1

Twilight Falls

Tifa woke up early, expecting to find herself alone. Everyone else had already gone, and Cloud was supposed to have left early that morning for Costa Del Sol. She sighed sadly and walked downstairs to fix breakfast. As she was looking for a plate, she heard someone walking around. Since everyone was gone, it had to be some kind of intruder. Quietly stalking towards the living room, she pressed herself against the wall, waiting for them to come around the corner. Hearing them approach, she jumped out and planted a powerful kick to the intruder's gut. He fell in a heap, trying to catch his breath.

"Tif! What are you doing?" he protested.

She gasped in surprise, "Cloud?" she knelt beside him, and gently placed a hand on his back, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

He nodded, "I'll survive. Sorry, I guess I scared you." He slowly climbed to his feet, "I deserved that."

She smiled at him, "You did scare me. I thought you had left."

"I was gonna wait until you woke up. So I could tell you goodbye."

Tifa turned away to hide the sadness in her eyes, "Oh. You wanna eat breakfast before you go?"

"Yeah, of course."

"You know, you could come with me, Tifa." Cloud said as they ate.

She shook her head, "No. I want to stay here...it's my home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Cloud sighed, "Okay. But you can always come if you want to, remember that. There's no one else in town, will you be alright by yourself?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me."

Cloud stared into her eyes for a moment, But I do worry about you...Tif...I...

Tifa broke the eye contact. "I'll be okay, Cloud." she assured him. "Now you'd better get going."

He nodded and stood up. Gathering his pack of belongings, he headed toward the door. Tifa was a few steps behind him. Suddenly, as if under some unspoken request, Cloud turned and put his bag down.

"Tifa..."

Her eyes rimmed with tears, she managed to speak, "Goodbye, Cloud."

He stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms, catching her by surprise. He'd never hugged her before. Overcoming her shock, Tifa wrapped her arms around him, returning his embrace. Cloud... She hesitated for a moment, then rested her head on his shoulder. She expected him to pull away, but he only held her tighter.

Cloud could feel Tifa trembling slightly. He didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't stay in Nibelhiem. There were too many memories, too much pain. He wanted Tifa to come with him, but she wouldn't change her mind. He pulled away slightly to look at her, she had her eyes squeezed shut, trying to fight tears. Suddenly she looked up at him, the pain in her eyes tearing at his soul.

"Goodbye, Tif." He pulled away from her and retrieved his belongings. He walked out the door, quietly shutting it behind him, not daring to look back. He unhitched his gold chocobo, Renon, and jumped onto its back. Turning the chocobo towards the east, they took off at high speed toward Costa Del Sol.

Late that night, Cloud sat under a small tree, staring up at the stars. He could hear Renon wandering around nearby, nibbling on the grass. Suddenly he found his thoughts wandering to Tifa.

She was standing over him, trying desperately to get him to take her hand. He reached up to her, just as the ground began to tremble. The ledge she was kneeling on gave way, and she plummeted toward the Mako energy thousands of feet below. Reacting with lightning speed, he caught her as she fell, and leaped up to grasp the edge of the cliff above them.

He remembered his horror as she had fallen, plummeting toward certain death. He'd thought about that moment often, and had realized something. He loved Tifa; he always had. The only problem was that he wasn't sure if he should tell her. Everyone he had ever loved had ended up dead; he didn't want to lose Tifa as well. Soon after Sephiroth's defeat, he had finally let go of Aeris's memory, and bid her his final farewell. He knew if he ever lost Tifa it would destroy him. They had been together all their lives, and if she was suddenly gone... Cloud drifted off to sleep, trying hard not to think about Tifa.

Tifa was upstairs playing a song on her piano when she heard someone enter the house.

"Who's that?'' she wondered aloud, walking downstairs to see who it was. When she reached the bottom and saw who stood there, her heart froze in fear.

"Sephiroth! What are you doing here? We defeated you!" she cried.

He laughed eerily, "Where is the puppet? Did he leave you here alone?"

"What do you want from Cloud?" she demanded.

"Where is he?" Sephiroth repeated.

"He's not here! He left long ago, now get out of my house!"

Sephiroth smiled, "As you wish." He drew Masamune and plunged it into her chest. She looked at him in shock before falling to the ground dead.

Cloud woke with a start, breathing heavily. "Tif..." he shook his head to clear it. It was only a dream. he realized with relief. But it had seemed so real...No. Sephiroth is dead, he can't hurt her. For some reason, he couldn't banish his feelings of dread. "I have to go back...something isn't right." He gathered up his stuff and called Renon. The chocobo came immediately, almost as if he sensed something as well. Cloud climbed onto the gigantic bird's back, "Alright, Renon. We have to go back." The chocobo bolted off back towards Nibelhiem at top speed. Running at that speed, it was only hours to get back to Nibelhiem. Cloud only hoped that he wasn't too late. As the hours passed, a nagging dread grew in the back of his mind, pushing him forward. Soon, the tiny village came into view, illuminated faintly in the moonlight. As he reached the village, Cloud jumped from Renon's back and ran to Tifa's house.

"Tifa!" he called desperately, fearing that she wouldn't respond. "Tifa!"

She came downstairs slowly. She had been asleep. "Who...?" she squinted as if she didn't believe her eyes, "Cloud? Wh-what are you doing back?" She noticed the look on his face, "What's wrong?"

"Get your stuff and hurry. We have to get out of here."

She stared at him strangely, "Why?"

"Later. Just trust me, we have to leave."

Tifa could see that he was serious, and didn't press the point further. "Okay, I'll be right back."

Cloud stood near the door, feeling his dread grow. Sephiroth's coming. Suddenly the door burst open, Sephiroth strode in, eyes gleaming.

"You believed that you could save her, Cloud?"

Cloud drew his Ultima Weapon and stepped in front of Sephiroth, anger and rage burning in his eyes. "If you touch her, I swear I'll kill you."

Sephiroth seemed amused, "Really? I find that hard to believe. I could make you kill her for me."

"Never."

Tifa came running down the stairs her Premium Heart and Mystile Armlet already equipped. "Cloud, who's-" she stopped when she saw Sephiroth. "What's going on?" she went to Cloud's side.

Cloud stepped in front of her, "Just get back, Tifa."

"But-" she started to protest.

"Tif, please..." he whispered, his dream flashing through his mind. He knew if she faced Sephiroth he would kill her.

Sephiroth stepped outside, Cloud following him wearily. Tifa stood at the doorway, watching Cloud worriedly. Sephiroth was far more skilled than anyone, and one mistake would cost Cloud his life. Sephiroth swung at Cloud; he blocked the blow easily. After a rapid succession of slashes and parries, Sephiroth cast Bolt 3, knocking Cloud to the ground in a daze. He struggled to climb to his feet. Sephiroth stood over him, lifting Masamune to deliver the final blow.

"NO!" Tifa screamed, running at Sephiroth. He turned toward her, swinging his blade in a wide arc. It caught her across the stomach, bringing a stream of blood with it. She collapsed instantly, her vision fogging over.

"TIFA!" Cloud cried, denial and rage in his voice. He climbed to his feet and swung Ultima Weapon at Sephiroth's head. With an evil laugh, Sephiroth faded away. Cloud glanced around, looking for some sign of where Sephiroth had gone. "Where are you?" he demanded. There was no answer. Throwing his sword to the ground, he knelt beside Tifa and gently cradled her body in his arms. "Tif...speak to me..."

"I...I'm okay..."

Drawing on his magic, Cloud cast Full Cure on her. The deep gash across her stomach only closed slightly at the edges. "It's not strong enough." He stood up, holding her tightly, "If we can make it to Cosmo Canyon, we can use the giant Materia to heal you."

"Cid...the Highwind. It would be alot faster."

"Renon!" he called. The chocobo came running. Cloud put Tifa on Renon's back, then retrieved his sword and jumped up behind her. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and took the reins with the other. "Just hold on, Tif."

Cloud turned the chocobo towards Rocket Town and nudged him into a full run. In half an hour they had reached the town. Cloud jumped from Renon's back and took Tifa in his arms, then ran to Cid's house. "Cid!" he called, hoping the pilot would hear him.

Shera opened the door, "Who-? Oh, Cloud. What happened to Tifa?"

"Sephiroth. Is Cid around? We need the Highwind."

Shera nodded, "Yeah, um...he's asleep. Bring Tifa in and put her on the bed right over there. I'll go get him."

Cloud nodded his thanks and took Tifa into the room. He gently lay her on the bed. "Tifa?"

"Hmm?" she said, opening her eyes.

He knelt beside her bed, "How you feel?"

"I'm still here. Don't worry." she smiled at him.

A sudden intense light jerked Cid from his sleep.

"Who the hell? What's going on?" he growled.

"Cid get up. Cloud's here; Tifa's been injured, and they need the Highwind." Shera said.

Cid crawled out of bed, "Tifa? Where are they?"

"In my room. Hurry, from the looks of it, Tifa doesn't have much time."

Cid walked into Shera's room and stopped dead when he saw Tifa lying there covered in blood, "What the #& happened? Shera! Get some bandages!"

Cloud stood up, "It's Sephiroth. He's back."

"Damn. He's back? Did he do this to her?"

"Yes. Hello, Cid." Tifa said.

"Don't worry, sis. We'll get you help." Cid replied.

Shera came running in with the bandages and began wrapping them around Tifa's stomach.

Cloud and Cid left for the dining room, "Cloud, have you tried healing her?"

"Yeah, I tried Full Cure. It didn't do much. We have to go to Cosmo Canyon. The huge materia will amplify the power. That's why we need the Highwind; she might not make it much longer."

Cid could see the torment on the younger man's face, "Don't worry, kid. I'll get ya there. Then I'm gonna kick Sephiroth's $#ยข& ass to the damn moon."

"Thanks."

Cid lit a cigarette, "I ain't lettin' that freak get away with doing that to her."

Cloud smiled grimly, "That makes two of us."

"Okay, give me a minute to get the Highwind's preflight done, then I'll come get you two. Go back to her."

Cloud turned to go back to Tifa.

"Hey, don't worry, kid. She'll be okay."

Cloud nodded, "Yeah."

Cid left to prepare the Highwind. Shera came out of the room, "Cloud, Tifa's asking for you."

Cloud walked into the room and knelt beside the bed again, "Yeah, Tif?"

She smiled at him, "You're not worrying too much are you?"

He shrugged.

She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, "Don't worry. I'll be okay. I trust you."

"Cid says he's ready." Shera came into the room, "I'm going too."

Cloud gently picked Tifa up. He felt her snuggle against him, and he held her tighter. "Shera, can you bring Renon for me?"

She nodded, "Yes. I'll be right behind you."

"Thanks." Cloud left the house and headed for the Highwind. He lay Tifa on a bed in one of the rooms on the ship. "I'll be right back, I promise."

Tifa nodded and closed her eyes.

As Cloud headed for the cockpit, he felt the ship take off. "Cid, how long should it take?"

Shera was over at the control panel that monitored the huge airship.

"Ten, fifteen minutes." Cid replied.

Cloud went back to Tifa's room. He knelt beside her bed, staring at her face worriedly.

She opened her eyes, "Stop worrying."

"Tifa...how can I stop worrying?" he whispered, turning away from her.

Tifa looked at him, then gently lay her hand on his arm, "Cloud..."

When he turned to her, his eyes were haunted, "Tifa, I...I'm sorry."

"Cloud, it wasn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself."

He gently touched her face, "Just don't leave me."

She smiled, "I won't. Promise." Tifa's eyes drifted closed again.

Cloud knelt beside the bed, watching her sleep. Tifa...I love you...please don't go. He felt the Highwind slow down and land.

Cid came in, "Hurry up. We've gotta get that materia."

Cloud picked Tifa up and headed down the landing ramp. Some of the villagers, awakened by the noise of the Highwind, were waiting at the gates. Red XIII stood in front of them, awaiting their arrival.

"What has happened?" Red asked as they approached.

"Sephiroth wounded Tifa, and we need the huge materia." Cid answered.

Red nodded, "Follow me."

The small group headed to the observatory that housed the huge materia. Once inside, Cloud lay Tifa on the floor and cast Full Cure again. A faint light emanated from the four materia crystals, converging over Tifa's body. The gash in her stomach slowly closed.

"Take her to my house." Red spoke.

Cloud took her in his arms and went to Red's home. He lay Tifa on a small bed in the back room. She had fallen asleep on the way to the observatory and hadn't stirred since.

"Now explain what happened." Red and the others were waiting for him in the main room.

"I was leaving for Costa Del Sol, and I stopped for the night. I had a dream...about Sephiroth killing Tifa, and I knew that it wasn't just a dream. So I turned back. I thought we'd get out in time, but Sephiroth showed up. I was fighting him, and he cast Bolt on me. I'm not sure what happened after that, all I know is Tifa started screaming, and she ran at him. Then he just cut her open and disappeared."

"What I wanna know is how the hell Sephiroth is back." Cid mumbled.

Cloud shook his head, "I don't know. I..."

"We all need rest. We will continue this in the morning." Red broke in. Cid sprawled in a chair and was soon snoring. Shera lay on the couch and Red disappeared into his room. Cloud stood silent for a moment, then went back to the room he'd left Tifa in. He leaned over and gently brushed away a strand of her hair, his hand trembling. Now that she was safe, the reality of how close he'd come to losing her set in. He watched her sleep, assuring himself that she was okay, then lay down on the floor near her bed. After what had happened, he didn't want to leave her side. In a matter of minutes he was asleep.

Tifa slowly floated back into consciousness. The late afternoon sun shone in through the window, casting long shadows in the room. She stood up slowly, not sure if her legs would support her. She still felt weak, but she could walk. She went into the main room, startling Cid.

"Dammit, Tifa! You scared me!" he cried. "How you feeling, sis?"

"I'll be okay. I'm just a little tired." She glanced around, "Where's Cloud?"

"Hm. Kid's been sitting on some cliff all day, hasn't spoken at all."

"Thanks." Tifa walked out into the sunlight and went to find Cloud. She soon found him standing on a cliff far from the rest of the settlement. He was staring intently at some point on the horizon, a haunted expression on his face. "Cloud?"

He turned, "Tifa? When did you wake up?"

She went to his side, "Only a few minutes ago. What are you doing out here?"

He shrugged, "Nothing."

She could see the distress on his face, "Cloud, what's wrong?"

"Tif, it's nothing, really." he replied.

She knew him well enough to know that no amount of pushing would make him tell her, so she dropped it. Staring off at the sunset she whispered, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Cloud nodded, "Yeah."

A comfortable silence stretched between them. Cloud glanced at Tifa, I have to tell her. I almost waited too long. She has no idea how much she means to me. Tifa turned to meet his eyes and smiled faintly, then she noticed the pain in his eyes and frowned.

"Cloud..."

He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his words, then stared straight into her liquid brown eyes. "Tifa, I...have to tell you something...I..." he stopped, not sure of what to say.

"Cloud, you can tell me anything." she said gently.

He turned away, "I almost lost you, and...I never...I never told you how much you mean to me."

"Cloud, I know. You mean alot to me, too. You're my best friend."

He shook his head, "No. Tifa, you don't understand. I-I love you."

Tifa's eyes went wide, "You...love me?"

Cloud turned to her, despair in his eyes, "Yeah...I understand if you- "

Tifa hugged him tightly, "Cloud, I love you, too. I always have."

Cloud wrapped his arms around her, "So have I. I'm sorry, Tif. Sephiroth won't get away with what he did."

"It's okay. I knew I could count on you." she looked up at him.

They slowly drifted closer together until their lips met in a gentle kiss. Cloud pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. After a long moment they separated and Tifa looked up at him, smiling warmly, then lay her head on his shoulder. Cloud gently rested his head against hers.

Tifa closed her eyes, feeling Cloud's warmth envelop her. All her life she'd loved him, but she feared that if she ever were to tell him, he'd break her heart. And she feared losing him as a friend; they had been together far too long. After Aeris had joined their group, she had given up altogether on telling him. It was strange that to think that Cloud had been suffering with the same doubt all that time. She yawned sleepily and snuggled against his shoulder.

"You okay, Tif?" Cloud whispered.

"Yeah, just a little tired."

Cloud gently pulled away from her, "It's getting late, we need to go back. Now that Sephiroth's back we've gotta find everyone."

Late that night, the group was sitting in Red's living room, debating on what to do next.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Cid asked.

Cloud stopped pacing and looked at him, "First we have to find everyone. It shouldn't be too hard."

"No one's heard from Vincent since he left." Tifa added.

Cloud stared at the floor, lost in thought, "Okay. We go to Corel first. From there, we'll call everyone and have them go there. Vincent...we'll figure that out later."

Cid nodded, "In the morning we'll leave for Corel."

Tifa stood, "Okay then. Goodnight." She went to her room.

"Where's Shera?" Cloud asked.

"Said she was staying at the inn tonight. Don't ask me why; she never ceases to confuse the hell out of me."

Cloud shook his head, a smile crossing his face.

"What the hell you laughing at?" Cid demanded harshly.

Cloud stretched out on the couch and closed his eyes, "Nothing."

"Just shut up and go to sleep. There's nothing between me and Shera. Nothing." he emphasized.

Cloud didn't answer. Everyone suspected there was something between Cid and Shera, and they constantly teased him about it. Of course, Cid never found it amusing. Cid was still mumbling under his breath as Cloud drifted off to sleep.